Lough Neagh Working
Boats Progress
The first Lough Neagh working boat is now afloat since November 2007, after about six months work on Thursday nights and some Saturdays. With 17ft length and 7’3” beam, she is very close to the boat at UFTM, on which we based her (click for A4 plan here). The last job were making the suit of jib and sprit mainsail (Sailplan) with sailmaker Dave Buchanan from Gweek, Cornwall (see Sails). The sail and rigging is scaled up from a range of archive photos, a jib and sprit mainsail.
We have since been working on a 16ft flat-bottomed Lough Neagh Cot, which has been completed in March 2008. It is based on a cot built by Robert Pollock in the 1940s, which we recently acquired and currently restore. Images of both boats and the building process will be available soon.
We are now building another traditional Lough Neagh working boat, a 20’ clinker sail boat. The launch of these boats will hopefully help to restore an important part of Lough Neagh’s cultural heritage and soon we might be able to see more indigenous boats on the water again.
Follow the progress of the boat building on the
LN Boats page. Or simply come down to us on a Thursday
evening (map on the Contact page)!
Historical info, archive images and old ppstcards are accessible on the Research
page.
Aran Island and Havhingsten
In May 2007 we took three naomhóga
and two sea kayaks to Doolin to row 6nm over to Inis Oírr
and then on to Inis Maein. The full account of the trip and
images are now on the Trips page.
On the 14th September, we brought three curachs to Dublin
to welcome the viking ship replica Havhingsten (or Sea Stallion)
into Dublin Port. Meeting her near Sandymount power station,
we rowed and sailed for a short distance alongside her, but
were then out-manouvered by her speed of 4.5 knots in a light
wind... However, it was a great feeling to be alongside this
amazing near 100ft ship, reconstructed with authentic methods
and materials and based on Skuldelev 6, an 11th century ship
found in 1962 in Roskilde, Denmark. The original ship had
been built in Co. Wicklow.
More info: Havhingsten
Website and on the on the Trips
page.
Turas Cholmcille
Over the month of June, three professional artists (Armagh
based photographer/writer Anne Burke; writer, Danny Sheehy
from Kerry and sculptor Holger Lönze) collaborated with
other invited artists, like box player Brendan Begley, and
scholars in an unconventional project to create artwork in
response to a currach journey from Raghley Pier, Sligo to
Teelin, Malin Head and Portrush to Rathin (and next year on
to Iona). They embarked on a cultural journey, linking past
and present communities, their landscapes, stories, language,
traditions, history and visual culture. This 'Slow Travel' [*EcoNote]
project is inspired by a historic voyage carried out by 7th
century monks from Teelin, Donegal to Iona in Scotland and
beyond. More info.
LNBHA Brochure out!
A small full-colour brochure marks the four years anniversary of the 'non-keel laying' of our first curachs. The 12-page A5 brochure contains information on the group and sustainable boat building as well all information on boating heritage and Lough Neagh. Four pages inform about traditional boats on Lough Neagh and the making of curachs. More than forty images give an idea of the activities of our group and the processes involved in building traditional boats. If you would like to receive a copy, please send a A5 SAE to the address on the Contact page.
Build your own LNB: Lines and Construction Plan
An A1 size plan of the traditional 17ft Lough Neagh Boat has just been completed by Holger. The waterlines are taken from the replica boat in the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum in Cultra while the construction plan also incorporates notes and details from other LN Boats we surveyed as well as findings through the building process. There is sufficient detail to enable building from the plans, particularly in conjunction with the images and description of the building process on this website. The drawing also incorporates a full sailplan, notes on materials, a table of offsets and scantling sections. Click here for an A4 preview of the plan. A full A1 plan (b/w copy on white 100g paper, folded to A4) can be send out to you: please send a cheque for £18 payable to Lough Neagh Boating Heritage Association to the address on the Contact page.
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Rowers Needed! Still...
In all the curachs we have now space for
more than 24 rowers, but we don't have the rowers! If you
live in the Lough Neagh area and are interested in going out
for short exercises or even longer journeys, please get in
touch with us (Contact)!
We try to go out regularly on weekends, weather permitting.
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Weather
& Tide...
Inshore
Waters Lough Foyle to Carlingford (BBC)
Coastal
Waters Lough Foyle to Carlingford (BBC)
Tides
Timetable Northern Ireland (BBC)
Admirality
Easytide tide predictions for Ireland
General
Information on weather and sailing (BBC) Back
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